Our weather disasters are getting worse, but is it mother nature’s fault…or perhaps ours?
Our weather disasters are getting worse, but is it mother nature’s fault…or perhaps ours?
Explained in a recent National Geographic article the planet is heating up – and fast. Global warming is the result of an alteration in the Earth’s climate from increases in greenhouse gases emitted by the human population – and according to the article, the levels of these gases are now the highest they’ve been in the last 650,000 years.
Depending on which agency data you go by, the year 2017 was either the 2nd or 3rd hottest season on record without an El Nino boosting temperatures naturally, explained further in this article by Time Magazine.
A natural disaster is a sudden event that causes widespread destruction, excessive collateral damage or loss of life, brought about by forces other than the acts of human beings. In order to be classified as a disaster, it will have profound environmental effect and/or human loss and frequently incurs financial loss caused by earthquakes, flooding, volcanic eruption, landslide, and hurricanes.
Articles such as “Storm Warnings: Extreme Weather Is a Product of Climate Change” support the theory that the global warming of our planet has resulted in more disasters impacting our communities, with everything from flash flooding in Australia, China and Columbia displacing millions of people, to massive blizzards and tornadoes in America’s North East – all predicted to become far more common due to our warming climate.
A recent Time Magazine article predicted 2018 to be a high-risk year for earthquakes (the most unpredictable of all natural disasters) and already this year has started with a bang. An eye catching New York Post article was released just this week with a scary title that read ‘Four natural disasters wreak havoc on Earth at nearly the same time’ ranging from a volcanic eruption in The Philippines, to a 7.9 magnitude earthquake in Alaska, to rockslides and avalanches in Japan resulting from yet another volcanic eruption, alongside a 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Java – with the 4 planet-jolting events eerily occurring within just hours of each other.
Last year was a particularly bad year for natural disasters, with climate and weather disasters hitting nearly every continent. Hurricane Maria was regarded as the worst natural disaster on record in Dominica and Puerto Rico and the world’s most intense tropical cyclone in 2017.
Hurricane Irma was strongest Atlantic basin hurricane ever recorded outside the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Mexico suffered its strongest earthquake in more than 80 years whilst Category 4 Hurricane Harvey caused US$180 billion in damage and affected 13 million people from Texas through Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky – with the rebuilding being the largest effort since New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
Our weather disasters are getting worse…and they’re not slowing down anytime soon.
There has always been a debate on whether or not these natural occurrences are just an example of mother nature and her cycles of extreme weather, or rather a result of the human race contributing to an altered climate with more extreme phenomena.
Researchers and scientists have always attributed some blame towards human existence having an impact, however, a constant barrage of new data consistently indicates it is very much up to “us” to take back “some” of the control from mother nature.
In an article by Inside Science entitled ‘Human-Caused Climate Change has a Partner in Crime: Mother Nature Herself’ it is suggested that both sides are clearly responsible, whereas a recent article by the Scientific American, it is scientifically confirmed that ‘adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere loads the dice, increasing odds of such extreme weather events’ and the increase in these greenhouses gases can be tracked back to us, the human population.
We are also seeing these effects closer to home, a case in point being the coral bleaching of our beloved Great Barrier Reef, where two thirds of the world’s largest living structure is now affected from bleaching due to rising sea surface temperatures – as explored in this article by The Guardian.
Aside from the obvious danger of extreme weather threatening our safety, livelihood and legacy, there is also a significant financial consequence. Whilst general insurance doesn’t traditionally cover natural disasters, it was revealed that the US spent more than US$300 billion last year to clean up 16 major disasters, nearly double the average of 6 per year on record since the 1980s – and it’s not slowing down any time sooner according to the article ‘2018 Could See The Most Natural Disasters in History’.
More than that, the world’s leading minds are also concerned about the impacts. Steven Hawking is worried about the future of humanity, explored in a recent episode of ‘Favourite places’ his CGI based TV series which focused on the atmospheric conditions of Venus.
In the episode, Hawking explains how our planet is at risk of resulting in a similar atmosphere of Venus, which is made up of a super-heated supercritical fluid under immense pressure near the surface, making the planet inhabitable due to runaway greenhouse warming. A clear warning sign and a notable threat if we refuse to consider the carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas levels in our home planet’s atmosphere.
“Next time you meet a climate change denier, tell them to take a trip to Venus,” Hawking says. “I will pay the fare.”
Here at EGP Energy Solutions, we are a company with a clear mission around helping Australian businesses embrace commercial renewable energy solutions. We’re here to help businesses not only reduce their carbon footprint, but to lower their electricity bills and increase their building’s energy efficiency.
In a recent Clean Energy Council article which explained how Australia is on track to achieve its Renewable Energy Target by the year 2020, we are honoured to be contributing to this optimistic goal of a cleaner, more sustainable future for our nation (and the planet).
The change to renewable energy is actually easier and more affordable than most companies think – as explained in our blog Driving Profitability with Staley’s GM. One of our most common solutions is focused towards installing solar farms for clients with available roof space, regularly helping businesses reduce their energy bills by between 50-70% per annum – working towards an ultimate goal of converting a majority of Australian businesses to producing their own solar energy.
Whilst the debate of global warming vs mother nature is one without a clear answer, the fact remains that we as humans are part of the problem – and we at EGP hope you can join us in being part of the solution.
We welcome a discussion with your business today.